


Violent Delights

by FDCMarvel



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Angst, Angst and Humor, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Jealousy, Love/Hate, Post-Battle of New York (Marvel), Slow Build, Slow Burn, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-04 22:48:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5351258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FDCMarvel/pseuds/FDCMarvel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cait, Alice, and Felicity are roommates living in a tiny Greenwich Village apartment and attending NYU.  A chance encounter with Bruce Banner introduces the girls to superhero group the Avengers, and through him they enter a world of otherworldly experiences, unexpected friendships, and life-changing romance. Cait struggling with the womanizing Tony, Felicity stuck between the brilliant Bruce and the sexy Steve and Alice fighting her undeniable attraction to the dark and dangerous Loki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_“These violent delights have violent ends_

_And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,_

_Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey_

_Is loathsome in his own deliciousness_

_And in the taste confounds the appetite._

_Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so._

_Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.”_

_-William Shakespeare_

 

**I.**

“Ughhhhhh,” Felicity groaned into her pillow, slamming the snooze button on her alarm clock for the third time.  “Aliceeeeeee!” she called to her roommate through their apartment’s thin walls, “Can’t you go to the lecture for me?”

“No, Bellucci,” early bird Alice entered the room, already put together and ready for her day.

“But if we’re all going to the same lecture, it doesn’t make sense for _everyone_ to go.  Save space.  It’s like, watching your carbon footprint or whatever.”

Alice rolled her eyes.  Felicity was hopeless when it came to environmental science.  “Get up, you lazy shit.”

“Fine,” she groaned again, “Where’s Cait?”

“No idea.  She never came home last night.  I think she mentioned hanging out with Kevin?”

“Kevin!”  This got Felicity out of bed.  “I hate that guy.”

“So did Cait, last time I checked.”

“Not my problem,” Felicity sighed, crossing to her closet and throwing on the first dress she saw and a pair of Doc Martens.  “Who’s lecturing today?”

“Bruce Banner!  How could you forget?  I’ve been psyched about this for weeks!”

“Right.  Big green rage monster.”

“More like world-renowned nuclear physicist!”

“You know I’m only taking physics because I have to for pre-med.”

“But still.”

“You’re right.  It is pretty cool.  He did save the city from a bunch of aliens by freaking the fuck out and wrecking shit.  I can support that kind of a lifestyle.”

“Oh, come on!  We’re gonna be late to class.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So if we could access the gamma rays in a contained fashion, imagine the power we could have!”  Alice whispered to Felicity as she watched Dr. Banner lecture on the powers of gamma rays.

“Honestly, how do you get so excited about these things?!” Felicity wondered as she put her face flat against the desk again and let her mind drift off.

“You. In the fifth row, with your head against the desk.” Felicity's head shot up, now fully attentive.

“If I was trying to harness the power, where would the initial shock wave be derived from?” Bruce interrogated, knowing that she had not been listening.

Felicity opened her mouth but before she could get words out Alice shouted:“They would be derived from the quantum field in which you would need to stabilize. But how would you be able to stabilize a quantum field on earth? The gravitational pull would potentially reverse it and make it implode.”

There was a long silence in the lecture hall in which Bruce was impressed, the students were incredulous, and Felicity was attempting to calm down from being called out in class.

“That, my dear, is the precise problem which I have been trying to solve in my lab for around five years now. Did you honestly follow everything I’ve been saying?” he asked, looking at the rest of the students who looked utterly confused or undeniably bored.  

“Yes, in fact, I even attempted to draw out the quantum field generator that you explained, but I'm afraid that it did not turn out so well,” she said, holding up a note pad with a strange circular mechanical sketch.  

Bruce quickly walked up the lecture hall to Alice’s desk and took a look at her sketch.

“Yes...yes...this is exactly as I attempted, except the stabilizer was toward the secondary balance,” he said, still slightly in shock from this strange girl who was able to follow his life's work. He continued to analyze the sketch for a minute before realizing that the entire class was waiting for him to continue his lecture.

“Right well, see me after class, Alice,” he said, refocusing himself on the audience at hand.

“Of course Dr. Banner,” she said, surprised.

He continued to lecture for fifteen more minutes until the bell rang, and students began to file out of the room. Felicity stayed by Alice's side as she walked up to Dr. Banner.

“I was thoroughly impressed today.” He looked down at his notes. “May I see your sketch again?” He motioned towards the notebook in her hands.

“Yes, of course!” she said, handing  him the messy notebook.

He started leafing through the papers and stopped again at the sketch, analyzing the notes for several minutes.

“I have a proposition.” He looked up at Alice who was extremely nervous. “It has been a while since I have found anyone who can follow what I am saying, let alone be able to create and think for themselves on the topic. I would love help on my quantum field work back at my lab, and I feel that you would be the perfect apprentice. Would you like to come join me in the lab during the afternoons ?”

Alice stared back at him with a baffled look.  “I...I..I would love to! This is such an incredible honor, Doctor. Thank you!”

“I need help and I think you would be the perfect mind for it,” he smiled, looking hopeful.

“When would you like me to start?” Alice asked, looking for more details.

“Tomorrow would be best. I will be arriving around 10 at the S.H.I.E.L.D. labs.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D., right, I forgot that’s who you work for,” Alice said, putting the pieces together.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.? Like the Avengers S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Felicity chimed in, suddenly excited.

“Yes. You may come, too, I suppose...as long as you don't touch anything in the labs,” he chuckled. “I'm sure someone would be willing to give you a tour.”

“Oh my god! I love physics now!” Felicity said, finally entertained.

“Well, I have to run but I look forward to working with you, Alice,” he said as he collected his things and began to walk out.

“Thank you again, Doctor!” Alice chirped as the doors closed behind the Doctor, leaving Felicity and Alice alone in the lecture hall.

 

* * * * *

 

“Caiiiiiittttt!” Felicity yelling into the apartment as soon as they arrived at home.

“Whattttt!” Cait imitated back as she walked around the corner, looking like she just got out of bed.

“Bet you can't guess what happened to Alice today!” Felicity looked expectantly at her roommate.

“Felicity, relax. You don't even know if any of the Avengers are at the base or not,” Alice said, trying to keep her more romantic roommate from getting caught up in false hope.

“The Avengers?” Cait was confused.

“Yes, Dr. Banner asked me to work with him in his lab at S.H.I.E.L.D. for a few weeks,” Alice stated, trying her best to be nonchalant.

“How the fuck did _that_ happen?” Cait retorted.

“The lecture this morning. Alice decided to be a show off as per usual but this time she wasn't yelled at for it,” Felicity smirked.

“Oh shut up. It's not showing off, he asked you the damn question. I was just helping,” she said, walking into her room to change into pajamas.

“Are you guys down for movie night?” Cait said going into the freezer and grabbing a tub of ice cream.

“Oh hell yes!” Felicity said, running into her room to grab pajamas.

“I call the couch!” Alice yelled as she leapt onto it.


	3. Chapter 3

“Get up!” Alice yelled, throwing a pillow at Cait’s face.

“Shut up,” Felicity mumbled from the other room.

“Do you want to meet the god damn Avengers or not, because I am leaving in ten minutes regardless of whether you guys are ready.” Alice was brushing her hair and touching up her eye makeup.

“Shit. That's today isn't it!?” Felicity said, before jumping out of bed and ripping through her drawers.

“Ughhhhhhh!” Cait yelled into her pillow as she dragged her body out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans.

“Nine minutes and counting! I will not be late on my first day!” Alice yelled, throwing things into her bag.     

Felicity threw on a dress, Docs, and her favorite pair of thigh highs and was ready to go. Cait pulled on some jeans and a band t-shirt and grabbed her purse.

“Let's go, let's go, let's go!!!!” Alice said, throwing the door open and hailing a cab. All the girls filled into the cab.

“Stark Tower, please” Alice said, clearly nervous.

“Stark Tower it is,” the foreign cab driver said, pulling out into the heavy traffic. Within ten minutes, they were standing in front of the massive doors.

“Guys. Please don't be total fan girls, okay? If you see the Avengers, relax, say hi and get a picture. Don't scream, please?” Felicity and Cait rolled their eyes as they opened the doors and walked up to the security desk

“I am here to see Dr. Banner in the physics lab?” Alice stated, looking nervously at the security man behind the desk.

He smiled and passed them three passes for the lab and turned back to the computer.

“The elevator is right down the hall,” he said, pointing to the girls’ left.

“Right. Thank you,”  they said politely as they scurried down the hall and into the elevator, terrified of being late.

 

* * * * *

 

“Holy shit,” Alice said as she looked around the lab at all the tech equipment.

“Annnddd this is where I leave,” Felicity said, looking dubiously at all the physics paraphernalia.

“Yeah, I'm out,” Cait said, walking out with Felicity. Alice pulled her notes out and started organizing them when Bruce walked in the lab.

“Good morning!” He said smiling at her. “Someone’s early.”

“Yes, yes, just a little nervous about being late, I guess,” Alice laughed.

 “Well, nerves won't help anything!” A booming voice stated from around the door. A large blonde man came thundering into the lab behind Bruce.

“And this would be Thor,” Bruce stated, looking annoyed.

“Oh wow, nice to meet you. You are quite the idol in New York now,” Alice said, shaking his large, calloused hand.

“Well, you are quite the little genius, or so I have heard from Bruce,” Thor said with a deep laugh.

“Oh, well, thank you. Genius is quite far-fetched,” Alice said.

Suddenly, there was a sound from the back of the lab. Bruce and Thor both turned and looked back into the empty lab.

“Do you have ghosts?” Alice said, looking into the empty space.

“Not ghosts. Just a nasty varmint,” Bruce laughed to himself. Alice looked to Thor who seemed to be holding back a snicker as well.

“Am I missing something?” Alice was confused.  Was this some sort of initiation prank?

“Quit playing around, Loki. She’s new and does not want to deal with your tricks,” Thor said, looking off into the distance.

“Loki?” Alice said, concerned, “Like the man who lead the attack on New York?”

Before Bruce or Thor had a chance to respond, a third man appeared in front of Alice.

“Why yes, love, that would be me,” he smirked like a cat. Alice looked up at the tall man in front of her. He had on a green and black leather outfit, with black slicked back hair and striking blue eyes.

“I….well….yes, hello. I'm Alice,” she said, stuttering at his otherworldly beauty.

“So, I've heard. Banner had so _many_ things to say about you,” he said in his silky, sarcastic voice.

“No need to be so creepy, Laufeyson,” Banner rolled his eyes, “So, Alice, where is your...less academic friend?”

“Oh, I think Felicity and my other roommate went out in the hall.  You want me to go get them?”

“Sure.”

Alice left the lab and soon found her roommates loitering in an empty hallway.  Felicity appeared to be grilling Cait about her disappearance the day of the lecture.

“Banner wants us in there,” Alice announced, “Come on.”

“D, was that _Thor_ I saw walking in there?” Felicity was incredulous.

“Yeah, and Loki, actually.”

“Didn’t Loki try to demolish New York two years ago?” Cait was dubious.

“Yeah, but he’s better now, I guess.”

“Hi girls,” Banner said pleasantly when they returned.  “As you know, I’m Doctor Bruce Banner, and these are some of the other inhabitants of this building, Thor Odinson and Loki Laufeyson.”

“I’m Cait.”

“Felicity.”

“It’s always such a pleasure to meet such…. pretty….midgardians,” Loki’s voice was velvet, but it made Felicity shudder.  There was something insincere about the way he spoke.

“Felicity is the one who almost fell asleep during my lecture,” Bruce explained.

“Can you blame her?” Thor chuckled.

“In my defense, I’m only an English major.”

“And you’re in advanced physics...why?”

“Pre-med requirement,” she explained.

“She’s not as dumb as she seems, I promise,” Cait laughed.  

“Thanks,” Felicity rolled her eyes.

Cait elbowed Felicity in the ribs and inclined her head towards their roommate, who was giggling in the corner with Loki.   _What the fuck?_ Felicity mouthed to Cait.  Alice barely gave men the time of day, let alone men she’d only just met.  Then again, Loki _was_ a god.

“No, you couldn't have!” Alice giggled, playfully hit Loki’s shoulder, “You are the God of lies, how could I ever believe you?”

“I would never lie to a lady,” he feigned hurt.

“Should I be worried?” Felicity whispered to Dr. Banner, nodding towards her friend.

“No. Maybe. It’s probably fine.” He seemed as baffled by their flirting as her roommates did.  “Loki never has really, _flirted_ , with anyone before…”

“Neither has Alice, to be honest,” Cait added.  “She’s been so focused on school as long as I’ve known her.”

Alice was fully entranced by his blue eyes and the vibrations of his deep voice. She had no idea what he was saying because he himself was so distracting. Suddenly, she felt the shock of his skin touch hers as his hand lightly touched her lower thigh. As he did so he leaned over to her ear and whispered,     

“I know you aren't listening to a word I’m saying. I can see it in your eyes”

She looked at him and had to physically force herself from letting her eyes roll back in her head. She voice, his hand, his words, his everything made her want to just give in to this perfect man, no, this perfect god. As he slowly moved his hand up her thigh she moaned a little but coughed over it and took two large steps away from Loki, continuing the charade of coughing. Everyone else laughed a bit because it was obvious that she had gotten a little caught up.

“What the fuck?”  Felicity said, looking at the couple's strange interaction.

“Maybe it is best if you two stay away from each other” Thor said, looking at Loki who looked slightly out of breath.  

“Uh, yes…yes…best if I stay away,” Loki said, still struggling to grasp what was going on. “Midgardians, so fragile anyway” he said finally, gaining his total confidence back.

“Well, if you will,” Bruce motioned out the door, “leave Alice and I to working”.

“Right, right we’ll go” Thor said looking around at Felicity and Cait. “We’ll give you two the full tour” Thor looked at Loki.

“I will be doing no such thing.” Loki walked quickly out the doors and disappeared down the hall.

“Sorry about him,” Thor said, looking disappointed, “He is rather cold to everyone.”

“He wasn't looking too cold to Alice” Felicity said softly to Cait.

“Well that was quite a phenomenon.” Thor was still baffled. “I have never seen him touch a woman before. In fact, some men though he was gay,” he whispered.

“Right well, from the sound that Alice made, he is most certainly not gay,” Cait laughed.

“Yes, I guess so,” Thor looked back at Alice, working with Bruce in the lab. “I'll ask him how he feels about her later today, then. Anyway, let's get you two on the tour! I will show you our training room first” He boomed, walking quickly ahead of the girls.


	4. Chapter 4

“Here is the main training room,” Thor said, looking into the massive gym, “and right over here is the boxing ring.  Ah, look! Captain is about to practice a bit,” Thor pointed towards a shirtless man who was wrapping his hands with boxing tape.

“Good morning! And who are these two lovely ladies getting a personal tour from my big friend here?” the Captain said in a jolly tone.

“These are Banner’s new assistant’s friends, Cait and Felicity.”

“What a pleasure to meet you,” the Captain said, looking at Cait, shaking her hand and then looking over at Felicity and then eying her outfit for a second too long. “Call me Steve.”

“Hi Steve,” Felicity said coyly, fidgeting with her skirt.

“Well girls, it was a pleasure but I have to keep in shape. Maybe I'll catch you later?” he asked, smiling a bright, flashing smile at Felicity, who stood there smiling until Cait realized she was too entranced to say anything she piped up, saying “Yes, of course, we would love that!”

Thor chuckled and walked the two girls out of the gym and upstairs. As they entered the large hallway on the third floor, they saw many different doors with large windows looking into boardrooms. One of them clearly had a meeting going on, as a man was standing in front of many people at a table speaking passionately about something.

“And here, there is a meeting going on already. Must be important for Stark to be up so early,” Thor chuckled.

“Stark? As in, Iron Man Stark?” Felicity asked as she peered into the room once more.  

“Precisely. He is speaking about some new enhancements to his suit,” Thor pointed to the picture in the boardroom. Suddenly, Stark himself looked over into the window and at the sight of Thor gave a big cheesy smile and came to pop his head out the door.

“Good morning, Goldilocks!” he said, overly enthusiastic towards Thor.

“I wish you would not refer to me as that,” Thor said, clearly having heard the joke more than once

Ignoring Thor Tony looked at the two women on either side of his friend.

“And who are these delicious looking creatures?” Tony said, eyes both Felicity and Cait up and down.

“Don't speak of the guests like that. They are friends of Banner’s new assistant and they will be hanging around a while. This is Felicity and this is Cait.”

“Well. You two are in for a fun time here, but I bet you would have more fun upstairs. You girls should swing by some time. Especially you, blondie.” He said, winking at Cait and then swinging around towards Thor.

“I hate to say goodbye, but I have a boardroom full of bored men.” He chuckled at his own joke, “and I really do hate keeping them waiting, so _au revoir_ ”

The door slammed shut, and Thor turned back towards the girls.

“That was Tony Stark at his nicest. He is quite the character.”

“I like him,” Cait stated, bolder than Felicity had ever seen her. She turned to face Cait immediately.

“Really?” Felicity was confused. “He was kind of an asshole.”

“Yes, but it's refreshing when people have a sense of humor,” Cait explained.

“Well, enjoy dealing with that,” Felicity motioned towards Tony who was now standing on the table in the boardroom.

“What an ego,” Felicity murmured as they turned the corner and kept walking.

 

*** * * * ***

 

“You girls should join us for our evening feast,” Thor invited at the end of their tour.  Stark Tower was a world in itself: they’d seen labs, boardrooms, gyms, lounges, and even a food court.  Now, they’d returned to Dr. Banner’s lab.  “The more the merrier, in my opinion.  What say you, Bruce of Banner?”

“Of course!” Banner agreed, “But don’t feel obligated if you already have plans.”

“The only plans we had were for a ‘meal’ of ramen noodles and maybe some Netflix,” Felicity joked, “This is better, trust me.”

“Stark’s having a small dinner party up in the penthouse--nothing super fancy.  He loves having company over.  So, see you at eight?”

“See you then!” Alice smiled, and the girls left the lab to return to their apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

  
“Banner is such a babe, how didn’t I notice that earlier?” Felicity wondered aloud, rifling through her closet for the perfect outfit.

“He’s also like fifty,” Cait said.

“Is that really a surprise though?  It’s Bellucci.  She signed up for that sugar daddy dating site last year.”

“No, I guess I’m not surprised,” Cait decided, “How does this look?”

“Hot as fuck,” Felicity said, eyeing her roommate’s tight red dress and black stilettos.  “I’d hit that.”

“Same,” Alice agreed, “And keep your hair down.  It looks better like that.”

Alice finished fastening her favorite gold necklace and took a step back to admire herself in the mirror on the back of Felicity’s door.  The flowy, long-sleeved emerald dress highlighted her small waist and her gold shoes and accessories complemented her tan skin.  “Thoughts?”

“Lookin’ good, A,” Cait approved.

“I don’t know what look to go for!” Felicity moaned, tossing dresses onto her bed, “Femme fatale?  Girl next door?  Upper East Side widow whose rich husband just died under mysterious circumstances?”

“What about this dress?” Alice asked, holding up a navy blue halter dress.  “You look so good in vintage clothes.”

“You’re a genius,” Felicity hugged her roommate and pulled on the dress and a pair of nude wedges.  “What about my hair?”

“Half up half down and curl the ends a little bit.”

“Perfect.”

An hour later the girls had finished applying makeup and styling their hair and returned to Stark Tower, where they rode the elevator all the way to the top floor.  The doors slid open and Felicity, Cait, and Alice stepped out into the Avengers’ living room, lavishly decorated with couches, chairs, coffee tables, and a bar on one side of the room.  The room was full of people who were milling about, sipping on drinks and chatting with other guests.

“Welcome, girls,” Bruce emerged from the crowd to greet them, “So glad you could make it.”

“So nice to see you again,” Tony walked up to Bruce and looked lasciviously at Cait, who blushed under his penetrating gaze.

“Thanks for having us,” Cait said.

“My pleasure.  Make yourselves at home,” Tony said graciously before returning to the party.

“Anyone want a drink?” Bruce asked.

“Sure,” the girls assented, and he led them over to the bar, where Steve was mixing someone’s drink, muscles straining under his tight dress shirt.

“Hey,” he smiled at the girls, forcing himself not to stare too obviously at Felicity’s chest.  “What can I get you?”

Alice and Cait got their drinks and went to mingle while Felicity stayed at the bar to chat with Bruce and Steve.  

“I’ll have a Manhattan,” she said, and the men raised their eyebrows in surprise.

“I’ve never seen a girl order a Manhattan before,” Steve said.

“Me either,” Bruce agreed.

“So you boys think I can’t handle it?” she challenged.

“No!” Steve was ashamed at having been anything less than polite, “I’m just surprised, is all.”

“I’m Irish and Italian,” Felicity explained, “Drinking’s in my blood.”

Steve slid her drink across the bar, and Felicity took a sip and gave Steve a thumbs up.  “If saving the world gets too boring, you should consider becoming a bartender.”

Steve laughed aloud.  “You’re funnier than most of Bruce’s lab assistants.”

“That’s because Alice’s the lab assistant, not me.  I’m only taking physics to get into med school, and I only came here with Alice today because I figured a trip to Stark Tower would make a good story.”

“You’re very honest,” Bruce said,  “I like it.”

“Honesty is surprisingly rare in our line of work,” Steve said.

“Superhero business just ain’t what it used to be, huh?” Felicity joked.

“Well, yeah, I mean back in my day--”

“Oh, here we go,” Steve was interrupted by Bruce.  “Back in my day we did things the right way, but you younguns wouldn’t understand.”

“I don’t talk like that,” Steve pouted.

“I’d love to hear about the good ole days,” Felicity encouraged, “anything’s better than whatever shit Banner was talking about in the lecture the other day.”

Bruce’s jaw dropped.  “I invite you to my lab, I invite you to dinner, I am the picture of politeness, and this is how you repay me?” he feigned hurt.

“You know I’m just being rude because I’m insecure about the fact that you and Alice can understand this stuff and I can’t.”

“There she goes again with the honesty thing,” Steve chuckled.

An announcement from J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted their conversation: “If everyone could please make their way into the dining room, dinner is served.”

“Come sit near us,” Steve instructed, leading Felicity into the grand dining room.  “Nat’s gonna love you.”

She took a seat in between Steve and Bruce, across from a striking redhead who she assumed was Nat.  Further down the table, Alice was sitting next to Loki, across from Thor.  She made eye contact with Loki and the girl flashed a smile.  Tony sat at the head of the table, and Cait was directly to his right, deep in conversation with their gregarious host.

“I’m Natasha Romanoff,” the redhead said, “You must be one of Banner’s new assistant’s friends.  Are you the dumb one or the quiet one?”

“Probably the dumb one, but I prefer to be called Felicity.”   _What a bitch._

“I’m sorry, that was rude of me.  I don’t understand a word when Tony and Banner talk science, so I feel you.”

“It’s fine.  It’s just a little overwhelming to be around all these geniuses.”

“Please.  Tony’s a moron, Bruce is clueless, Steve doesn’t understand how iPhones work, and Thor has the attention span of a goldfish.  You’re in good company.”

“Go easy, Nat, would ya?” Steve begged.

“I like her,” Felicity grinned at her new friends.

“Same here,” Nat agreed, “It’s kind of a sausagefest here, so it’s good to have some girls around.”

After dinner, someone put on music and people started dancing.  Felicity had lost track of Alice sometime after dessert, and now she was watching a very drunk, very flirtatious Cait dance suggestively with an equally as drunk Tony Stark.  Halfway through the current song, he took her hand and led her away into another room.

“Should I be worried?” Felicity asked Bruce, gesturing towards her friend’s retreating back.

“Depends,” Bruce began, “How well does she deal with one night stands?”

“Pretty normally, I think.  I guess it depends on the guy.”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to deal with it tomorrow.”

“Have you seen Alice?”

“Last time I saw her she was with Loki, so I’d imagine she’s in a similar position as Cait right now.  Then again, it’s Loki, so who knows.”

“Of course,” she sighed, suddenly feeling the weight of her loneliness. Was she going to be single forever?

“Care to dance?” Steve asked, returning from another room.

“Sure!  I love this song!”

Steve took her hand and led her into the crowd of people.  As they danced, Felicity was struck by how attractive he was, with his neat blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and perfect body.  Not her type, but did it matter?   _He hasn’t been flirting with me, though,_  she thought,  _He probably just sees me as a friend, like every other guy I know._

“Can I cut in?” Bruce approached them after a few songs.

“If you insist,” Steve said, “We were having such a nice time.”

“There’s plenty of me to go around, boys,” Felicity teased, as Steve left, frowning, to go make himself another drink.

Felicity danced with Bruce for the rest of the party, talking and laughing, all thoughts of Steve forgotten.  The doctor was what her friends always said was her type: dark-haired, intelligent, and much, much older.  Before she knew it, the guests were gone, leaving Felicity with the rest of the Avengers.

“You should stay over,” Bruce invited, “I doubt your friends will be going home anytime soon, and we’ve got plenty of space.”

“Sure,” Felicity accepted his invitation, “I hate going home to an empty apartment, anyway.”

Bruce led Felicity to a guest room, and she was too entranced by the doctor to notice Steve’s pained expression as he watched her leave.

The next morning, Thor made breakfast.  Cait emerged from Tony’s room in last night’s clothing, hungover and unable to make eye contact with the man she’d thrown herself at the night before.  Alice wandered in alone a little bit later, looking no worse for the wear.  Felicity was in better spirits than all of them, well-rested and talking animatedly with Bruce.  Steve grabbed a bagel from the table and returned to his room with nothing but a cursory “‘Morning.”

Cait left first to catch a cab, and Bruce walked Felicity out shortly after.

Once in the elevator, she turned to her companion.  “So, I guess I’ll see you tomor--”

Bruce interrupted her with a searing kiss.  

“I’m sorry,” he pulled away quickly and ran a hand through his thick curls, embarrassed, “It’s just that you’re very pretty and I had such a nice time talking to you last night and--”

This time it was Felicity that kissed him.

“And you’re very handsome,” she said as the elevator opened on the ground floor and they walked outside, “and I also had a great time with you last night.”

She pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled her number on his hand.  As she turned to leave, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back in for another kiss.

“See you tomorrow,” she said coyly, getting into the waiting cab.

“Yeah,” he said, dazed, “See you.”

“Bellucci!” the girls exclaimed once the cab pulled away from the curb.  “What was  _that_?”

“I could ask the same of you,” she laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

“Bellucci, you have a lot of explaining to do,” Cait said.

“I think we all need to debrief,” Alice retorted.

“Well, I don't know about you two, but I had a magnificent night with Dr. Banner!” Felicity laughed.

“Really, Felicity? I have to go back to work with him tomorrow!” Alice huffed.

“Oh relax, nothing happened,” Felicity quirked, “and even if it did, he’s such a nice guy I’m sure he wouldn’t mention it.”

“Yeah, well I'm sure as hell Tony _will_ mention it—to everyone!” Cait said.

“Um, what the fuck happened with Tony?” both girls inquired.

“I mean, nothing I wasn’t planning on already doing, but I think I might have had a little too much to drink,” Cait replied.

“You think?” Alice returned.

“Was it good?” Felicity interrupted, wanting to get to the juicy details

“What do you think? It was fucking amazing! It’s a shame it probably won’t happen again. But I pretty much already knew that. Totally worth it, though,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and picking at a nail. “I just hope he won’t go around telling everyone about it.”

“I'm sure if you speak to him tomorrow then he’ll be more reserved with the information and not go blabbing it around,” Alice said.

“Well, what the hell happened to _you_ all night?” Felicity said.

“Nothing too exciting,” Alice said sullenly.

“So, how is Loki?” Cait asked.

“I have no idea. He sat next to me at dinner and didn't say a single word to me. I didn't see much of him before or after that. I guess he took Thor's words to stay away to heart,” Alice said.

"So, did you spend the night alone?” they asked, suddenly feeling bad for getting caught up with the guys.

“If you’re asking if I slept with anyone, the answer is no. But I did have Thor’s company for most of the night. He told me some interesting stories about his and Loki's upbringing in Asgard. I hope we can go there with him someday,” Alice spoke, looking off into the distance as she remembered the tales Thor had told her.

“Well, regardless, I'm sure Loki is just being his cold, petty self. He’ll come around at some point,” Cait said softly.

“It doesn't matter anyways. He’s someone I should stay away from, too. He’s a bad person and manipulative,” Alice said, getting angrier by the second. “I mean, who does he think he is acting the way he did when he first met and and then acting the way he did last night?”

“Honestly, what an arrogant prick,” Cait added.

Felicity just looked at both girls and smiled.

“Well, I had a great night!”

 

* * * * *

 

“You fucking kissed her?!” Steve yelled.

“Careful, Steve, you don't want to bring the green monster out. And anyways if I hadn't, you most certainly had planned to!” Bruce smirked, knowing why his friend was angry.

“I would most certainly not have! I would have shown her a fun night and brought her home safely,” Steve said, seething.

 “Well, you didn't act quick enough, loverboy!” Tony shot from across the room while pouring himself some scotch.

“Shut the fuck up. You are in no place to speak. You got with the pretty blonde one while she was smashed drunk!” Steve and Bruce both yelled as Tony put both his hands up and started to step away.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything that she wasn’t already planning on doing sober,” Tony answered.

“I think you all need to take a break from these crazy new women for some time to get your minds straight,” Thor said, stomping into the room.

“Oh yeah, big boy! And how did Alice like being had by a god?” Stark joked.

“I did no such thing! We spent most of the night conversing about my life's stories. She is a most intelligent and interesting companion. That is all that occurred,” Thor sounded sincere.

“Well, what about Loki and whatever that crap was yesterday in the lab?” Bruce said, confused.

“Did you not hear me instruct my brother yesterday many times before the party to stay away from her?” Thor boomed.

“Why would you do that? They had great…chemistry,” Tony snickered.

“She’s a fragile and small Midgardian and he would hurt her in more ways than one. She is not right for my brother,” Thor said, getting protective..

“Oh, _brother,_ how you now show your true colors,” Loki said, appearing out of nowhere on the other side of the room.

“Fucking hate when you do that!” Stark said, stumbling in surprise. 

“You won't let me take a step near her because she is _so_ delicate? Do you forget that you are the brute here?” Loki spat, clearly furious.

“I do not mean in the ways of physicality. I mean only in ways of emotion. You will hurt her and we both know that,” Thor said, gaining aggression.

“And who are you to dictate what I want to do with my little minx?” he said, knowing that would set his brother off.

“She is NOT yours, nor will she EVER be!” He boomed, shaking the floor beneath them.

“Careful boys, the Stark Tower was only meant for one God,” he said pointing to himself with a proud smile.

“We will see, _brother,”_ Loki spat.

“You will stay away from her!” Thor boomed.

“Oh, will I?” Loki asked with a very fake inquisitive look on his face.

“And how in all nine realms are you going to stop me? I am the one with the magic,” he smirked, while looking at Thor's brutish hammer.

“I think our kiss last night was telling enough that she will no longer be looking at you brother,” Thor lied through his teeth. Loki let out a deep laugh that made everyone's skin crawl.

“Are you attempting to lie to the God of Lies?” he asked, still laughing. “You and I both know, regardless of how dull you really are, that she was waiting for _me_ all night and I never came, so she settled for you,” he spat venomously.

“Who would want the second prince in line, when they could have the first?” Thor boomed, bringing up his last and only defense.

“You started a war you will lose, _dear brother,”_ Loki retorted, walking out of the room in the direction of the exit.

“Well, looks like tomorrow will be quite the day at work!” Bruce said, looking around at all the shocked and angered faces.


	7. Chapter 7

“Cait, come on, get up!” Alice shouted, banging on the door to her door. “I have to be at the lab in twenty minutes!” Cait searched deep inside herself and somehow found the motivation to get out of bed. Running a brush through her hair and throwing on a t-shirt and jeans, she walked to the kitchen to grab something to eat quick. Before she knew it, all three were in a cab heading to Stark Tower.

“Guys, what am I even supposed to say to Tony?” Cait asked, sounding nervous.

“Just tell him to be quiet about it or something, I don’t know,” Bellucci responded, fidgeting with her skirt.

“Are you nervous about seeing Dr. Banner?” Alice asked, picking up on the fidgeting.

“What? No, why would you think that?” Bellucci tried to lie. Seeing no one believed her, she sighed. “It’s just I don’t really know what to expect from today.”

“It’ll be fine,” Alice said in a comforting tone. “If things are weird, just leave and say you’re going to explore the rest of the building.”

Too soon, they arrived at the building, walked in the entrance, and took the elevator down to the basement. When they walked in the lab, they found it was just Bruce and Steve together. Neither looked too happy to be with the other, but they both perked up when they saw Felicity.

“Alice, Felicity, Cait, it’s nice to see you all,” Bruce said, his eyes lingering on Felicity.

“Does anyone know where Tony is?” Cait asked.

“I think he’s in the boxing ring,” Bruce replied, hesitating slightly. Cait backed out of the room with a quick goodbye to everyone, off to find Tony. An awkward silence ensued.

“So, Alice, are you ready to start working?” Bruce asked. Alice nodded, moving across the room to stand next to him.

“You know, I think I might just go explore Stark Tower for a little bit. But I’ll see you later?” she asked, looking directly Bruce, who immediately nodded, smiling at her.

“You know, I think I might join you, if that’s alright, Felicity,” Steve broke in. At this, Bruce’s eyes narrowed slightly, though he didn’t say anything.

“Of course you’re welcome to join me, Captain,” Felicity said, smiling at him. Bruce’s eyes narrowed even more. Alice wondered if Felicity could tell how jealous Bruce was. If she did, she ignored it, waving bye and leaving the lab with Steve.

 

* * * * *

 

 _This is so not fair_ , Cait thought as she sat watching Tony work out in the boxing ring shirtless. Here she was, coming up to here to have a polite conversation with him so they could just be friends, and she had to watch him do this? It really just was not fair. How could anyone even focus while looking at him without a shirt on?

She sat down on the couch, attempting to get some control of herself before she did something stupid, like throw herself at him again or something. She knew that he had seen her, yet he just kept on working out like he was trying to torture her or something. Finally, he grabbed a water bottle and walked over.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked, trepidation in his eyes. He must have thought she was here to try and be his girlfriend or something. I stood up, moving a step closer to him. When Cait saw an opportunity, she took it. 

“Shouldn’t your girlfriend be here to watch you work out?” Cait coyly asked, throwing in a little extra flirtation. Fear instantly filled his eyes as he calculated the best way to easily her down. She couldn’t help herself as she burst out laughing. “God, I’m sorry, but seeing you freak out was so worth it. Relax, I’m just here to make sure we’re good.”

He visibly sighed in relief. “Right, good...?”

“I just mean, Alice is going to be working here with Bruce for who knows how long, and even Bellucci has got something going on with Bruce, so we’re probably going to be seeing each other a fair amount of time and I really don’t want that to be awkward. We can be friends, right?”

“Friends…” he said it slowly, like the concept of a one night stand asking to be friends was foreign to him. (It probably was.) “Yeah, I think we can do that.”

“Cool,” Cait said, plopping back down on the couch.

“Oh, you’re gonna stay here?” he asked. Cait loved how unsure he suddenly sounded. It was nice to see Tony not as an arrogant asshole.

“Yeah, I mean it’s fine, right? I’ll probably just wait for Alice to finish working before I go seeing as I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“Sure…” He walked away, picking up right where he left off in his workout. Cait put her feet up on the couch, trying her best not to stare at him. She picked up a magazine someone had left on the table, idly thumbing through it.

Eventually, he walked back over, looking as confused as he had when he had left.

“So…” he began. “Was there something you wanted to do?” 

“Why, I thought you’d never ask,” Cait replied, teasing. He cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. “Well, since we’re friends and all, I think it’s only fair I get to see the big, fancy suit you’re so well-known for.”

He rolled his eyes, throwing on a t-shirt and walking over to the gesture.

“If you insist,” he said with a smile, gesturing for Cait to follow him out the door.

 

* * * * *

 

“This whole tower really is amazing,” Felicity admired, walking around with Steve. He nodded in agreement. “Not too much of a talker, are you, Captain?” He shrugged his shoulders, purposefully keeping his lips sealed shut. Felicity laughed, surprised to see a more playful side to him. She waited, hoping maybe he would actually say something, but, to her disappointment, he remained silent.

“So, what do you actually do around here?” she prompted.

“Well,” he began, scratching his neck, “ever since we stopped Ultron’s whole ‘wipe humanity off the face of the Earth’ plan, things have really died down around here. Not much to do except train and stay fit.”

“Well, you do that pretty well,” Felicity unintentionally flirted. To her surprise, Steve actually _blushed._ “Come on, Captain, you must be used to compliments by now. Practically three-quarters of the female population wants to fuck you.” He looked taken aback at her word choice. He was so flustered, he couldn’t even form a response. He mumbled something that sounded distinctly like “not you” but Felicity didn't want to read into it too much.

“So,” Felicity broke in, ready to change the subject, “where did you learn to make drinks?”

“Well, there are two things of abundance in Stark Tower: sciencey stuff I don’t think I’ll ever understand _and_ alcohol. So with all this idle time I had, I took to becoming a master of drinks, the ultimate crowd-pleaser.”

“Well, I approve. You mix a mean Manhattan, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, your friend, Cait, sure seemed to like the drinks, too… What’s the deal with her and Tony, anyways? She doesn’t think that they’re going to get together, right? Not that I’m trying to pry, of course.”

“No, Cait knew what she was getting into with Stark. She just wants to make sure things won’t be too awkward--that’s why she was trying to find him this morning. Hey, speaking of Stark, is his suit in this building? Could we go see it?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s this way,” he said, turning down a hallway. “So, it seemed like you and Banner had a pretty fun time the other night too.”

“Yeah, he’s a pretty great guy. We stayed up talking the whole night.”

“Talking?” At Felicity’s look of confusion, he continued, stuttering and blushing. “I didn’t mean--everyone just assumed--oh God, I’m sorry.” Luckily, his incoherent words were cut off as they reached Tony’s workroom, where he kept his suit. Felicity burst through the door and walked straight up to the suit.

“Have you ever tried it on?” she asked Steve. He shook his head in horror.

“I would never mess with somebody else’s property. That’s just wrong.”

“Wrong, it might be. Fun, it definitely is. Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Stark could walk in, get angry over seeing me in his suit, and a battle that could destroy the city of New York would ensue.”

“Alright, Mr. Over _dramatic_ , even if Stark did walk in, you would have his suit so he would be defenseless and seeing as you’re already the supersoldier, you would automatically win. You’ve got nothing to lose.” Steve tried to tell himself that it was her logic convincing him and not the mischievous twinkle in her green eyes. “Besides, you’d look so handsome in the suit.”

Steve was utterly failing at convincing himself it was the logic at all. 

Even though every fiber in his being told him not to, he moved towards the platform where Tony always stood to put on his suit. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He was no rule-breaker.

“The suit isn’t going to fit me, this is just a bad idea,” Steve complained.

“Come on, I’m pretty sure it’ll conform to fit any body,” she retorted. She hit a button on one of Tony’s computers before he could say anything else.

“Initiating suit sequence,” Jarvis’s voice intoned. Steve could hear the machinery around him working, but before anything actually touched him, a voice boomed through the room.

“Jarvis, end sequence now!”

Steve’s fear had come true: Tony had arrived in the room.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Captain?”

As Steve sputtered for a response, Felicity started to laugh. Tony and Cait just stared at the bizarre scene in front of them until eventually joining in themselves. Steve still looked horrified at getting caught. As he realized that Tony wasn’t going to kill him, he seemed to calm down.

“I can already tell you that this whole situation was Bellucci’s fault,” Cait said to Tony, still laughing.

“I don’t even care who’s fault it is, I just can’t believe this supersized giant thought he even had a chance of fitting in my suit. He’s lucky I came in when I did, otherwise he would have been very squished,” Tony replied. Steve glared accusingly at Bellucci, who held her hands up in defense.

“Hey, I can’t believe you bought that either,” she said to him. Turning to Cait and Tony, she asked, “So what’s going on with you two?”

“Oh, he was just taking me to see the suit because I was bored. Alice was doing all her science stuff in the lab, and I didn’t know what you were doing, so I convinced him to show me this after his workout,” Cait told her.

“Speaking of Alice, I wonder how her work is going,” Bellucci responded.

“You wanna go back to the lab and see?”

“Yeah, sure, you guys want to come with?” When they nodded their approval, the four of them went to exit the room.

“Hey, Captain,” Felicity called back, “I hope you learned today that breaking a rule every once in a while isn’t going to kill you.”

Steve merely shook his head. He already knew she was going to get him in _lots_ of trouble.

 

* * * * *

 

He watched her from outside the lab. He watched her cold, calculating, eyes so brown they were almost black as she looked over all the notes again. He was invisible, obviously, otherwise people would notice him and think him strange to be paying any mind to this little creature. But yet, here he was watching this girl who seemed almost ethereal with her white blonde hair and harsh eyes. He watched Bruce say something to her that made her laugh, filling the lab with a sound that was close to the sound the bells in Asgard used to make. Damn him for being able to make her laugh.

She gave him a glowing smile, but he saw a falseness to it. He knew she was just being kind, because within seconds she was back to working on her calculations. He wanted to go speak to her, but he knew that would cause so many problems and he would make more enemies than he already had. Plus, she most likely would be angry with him for his past coldness to her. Yet, he still knew how she felt because she would not have acted the way she did when they first met if they both had not felt the same magnetic pull. He watched her eyes look beyond the glass walls of the lab, almost as if searching for something.

She was looking for him, wanting to see him. He knew by the look on her face that as much as she hated him she did want to see him again for a reason neither of them knew.  

 

* * * * *

 

 _Damn him_! Alice thought, trying to drag her focus back to the work she was struggling with. No matter what she kept trying to distract herself with, she couldn't get him to stop plaguing her thoughts.

“Are you alright? You seem a bit off today.” Bruce said watching Alice's vacant stare

Alice laughed a bit, smiling, “Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit distracted that's all.”

“Well, if you need some time off, then it would be perfectly acceptable if….”

He was cut off by Felicity, Cait, Steve and Tony barging into the lab.

“Yes, yes, I think I will take a few minutes to collect my thoughts,” she said, not letting Bruce finish. She pushed past the four people who had just entered the lab and walked towards the bathroom.

Alice walked into the bath and splashed some water on her face. She studied her tired eyes in the mirror. She knew she needed to relax and stop thinking so much, but she never could. She took a second to collect herself and turned on her heel, prepared to apologize for her abrupt exit to Bruce. As she turned, she ran into a hard wall and stumbled backwards.

“God damn it!” she mumbled, not having realized there was a wall there. As she opened her eyes to a smirking Loki, she realized it was not a wall, but a man who had been driving her absolutely crazy the last few days.  

“Oh I-sorry…what are you doing in the women's bathroom?” she said, giving him a look of confusion. 

“We need to talk, love,” he said, taking his hands off her as she regained her balance.

“What, Loki?” she said, saying his name for the first time. A range of emotions fleeted across his face, too quick for Alice to ascertain what they were. But clearly, her use of his name had had some effect on him. 

“My brother--” he began but Alice cut him off.

“Wants you to stay away from me. I have heard. It’s for the best. I am here for work and I want to stay unharmed and out of trouble unlike my two friends,” she said.

“See as much as that does sound _delightful,_ I hate my brother. So, I will not stay away from you,” he said, taking one step closer to her so they were almost touching. “In fact, I plan to stay very, _very_  close to you,” he continued, taking one finger and grazing it down her collarbone.

“Loki, really? Why are you doing this? Nothing good will come of this,” Alice said, trying to convince him and herself that she didn't want it.

“Yes, issues and fights and chaos,” he said lightly and then leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I am the god mischief, you know. This is what I do.”

"Are you telling me that this is all a game you’re playing to make others angry?” she said, breathily, trying to regain her composure

“Now you're catching on, love,” he said, still just an inch from her.

“Well, let me tell you something, _love,_ ” she said. Feeling anger over take all feelings, she pressed her body fully up against his and whispered, “You don't know what you are getting yourself into.” She turned on her heels, walked out of the bathroom, and made a beeline for the lab, leaving Loki shocked, furious and frustratingly turned on.


	8. Chapter 8

“Hey,” Felicity said shyly to Bruce, returning to the lab at the end of the day.  She’d passed Alice leaving on her way in, so she knew they were alone.

“Hey,” he said softly.  “Would you maybe wanna, um, get dinner or something tonight?  With me?”

“I’d love to!” she grinned.   _He’s so adorable when he’s nervous._  “Pick me up at eight?”

“Sounds perfect.”

She planted a quick kiss on his lips and left to find her friends.  “See you at eight!”

 

* * * * *

 

“I need advice!” Felicity flopped onto her bed.  “Do I shave or nah?”

“Well, this is very simple,” Alice said slowly, walking into the room, “Do you plan on fucking Banner or not?”

“I didn’t even think about that yet!  But yeah, I guess I do.”

“Then get in the shower and start shaving!”

A while later Felicity took a step back from the mirror, admiring her appearance.  She’d donned a pink floral skater dress, a black cardigan, and black ballet flats, and pulled her chestnut hair up into a retro ponytail.  Her makeup was minimal but effective, and her winged eyeliner was the sharpest it had ever been.

“You look adorable,” Cait complemented.

“Thanks, Cait, it’s nice to hear you say something nice to me every once in awhile.  Makes it more genuine.”

“I aim to please,” she joked.

“Petruzzi!  He’s headed up here!” Daria called from the living room.

“Aghhh,” Petruzzi yelled, swiping one last coat of mascara onto her already impossibly long eyelashes.

“Hey, Alice, Cait,” she heard Bruce’s voice, took a deep breath, and headed into the living room.

“Hey, Bruce!” she chirped, taking in the sight of her date.  He wore a grey button down and black pants, and he’d shaved the stubble that had been growing.

“Wow, you look great, Felicity.”

“Thanks; so do you!” she kissed him on the cheek.  “You ready to go?”

“I made reservations at this great restaurant in Greenwich Village,” Bruce said as they walked out to the waiting cab, “I’m assuming you like Italian?”

“Of course I do--even if no one’s a better cook than my Nonna.”

 

* * * * *

 

The restaurant was small and quaint, with dim, romantic lighting.  Felicity and Bruce were seated at a small table near the back of the room, and the waitress quickly came over to take their drink orders.

“Wow, sir, you have a very beautiful daughter,” she said pleasantly.

Bruce went purple with embarrassment, but Felicity kept her composure.

“Thanks for the compliment, but this is my date.  He’s much too young to be my father.”

The waitress’s pleasant smile vanished and her eyes widened in embarrassment.  “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry I didn’t rea--”

“I’ll have a Diet Coke, please,” Felicity interrupted.  “What do you want, Bruce?”

“Um, just water is fine, thanks,” he choked out.

“I’ll be right back with your drinks,” the waitress practically ran from the table.

As she left, Felicity burst into laughter.  “Oh my god, she must be _mortified_!  I’m calling it right now that she’s gonna pawn our table off on one of her coworkers.”

Bruce’s face returned to its normal color and he managed a small chuckle.  “I don’t even notice the age difference when I’m with you.”

“Neither do I, because age differences are stupid and they shouldn’t determine whether or not two people can be happy together.”

A new waitress returned with their drinks and began to take their orders.   _Called it,_ Felicity mouthed, winking at her date.

“You mentioned you’re pre-med--what kind of a doctor do you want to be?”

“At this point I think I want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.”

“Wow, I could never do anything like that,” he was impressed, “But I’ve gotta ask--how does a non-sciencey girl like you decide she wants to be a surgeon?  What’s inspiring you?”

“Well, my younger brother was born with severe congenital heart defects, so most of my earliest memories are of visiting him in the hospital after his open-heart surgeries.  I was fascinated by it then, and when I got older and understood the medicine behind it--when I could comprehend how extensive his issues were and how impressive it was that the doctors were able to fix every single one of them without compromising my brother’s ability to live a normal, healthy life, well, I wanted to be able to do that for other people.”  She looked down at her lap, waiting for Bruce to respond.  Her decision to pursue medicine wasn’t one she often talked about, mainly because no one ever asked.

“Felicity that’s--you’re amazing.”

The corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile.  “Oh, I’m not that great.”

“I think you are.”

 

* * * * *

 

They spent the rest of their meal in easy conversation, continuing to learn more about each other.  Felicity had more in common with Bruce than she expected: they both loved Cat Stevens and David Fincher movies, and he was almost as big a _Game of Thrones_ fan as she was.

“Jon and Daenerys?   _Really?_ How basic can you get?” she teased, “Stannis is the one true king of Westeros!”

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a Stannis fan.”

“Stannis is the King, Sansa is the Queen in the North.  Boom.  Perfect Westeros.”

“I agree about Sansa, but Stannis would make an awful king.”

“And Jon and Daenerys would be better?  Doubt it.”

“Well, you have the right to your opinion,” he allowed, “Even if it is wrong.”

“Hey!”

They’d reached the end of their meal.  Bruce paid the bill, and they stepped out into the cool fall air, her hand intertwined with his.

“What now?” Bruce asked, not wanting the night to end.

“I would invite you back to my place, but I have two roommates, and the walls are thin.”

_Did this mean that she wanted to…?_

“There’s always plenty of space back at Stark Tower,” he suggested.

“Then let’s go!” she said, hailing a cab.

The kissed the entire time they were in the cab and the whole elevator ride, pausing to dash past Steve, Tony, and Clint who were watching a football game in the living room.

“Atta boy, Banner!” Felicity heard Tony call as they headed to Bruce’s bedroom.

 

* * * * *

 

Felicity woke up in a dreamy state the next morning, and it took her a few seconds to realize where she was. _I had sex with Bruce last night!_ She soon remembered, taking into account the naked man with his arm draped around her lying in bed next to her. _And it was_ good _!_  He'd been so afraid of hurting her that he took extra care to be gentle, kissing her everywhere and holding her closely next to him while his heart rate dropped back to normal. _Older men know what's up._ Realizing she had class, Felicity crept out of bed, careful not to wake him up. She dressed quickly and kissed him softly on the forehead before leaving the room and easing the door shut behind her.

Her attempt to leave without running into anyone was thwarted by Tony, who was making a cup of coffee in the kitchen. She didn't know Tony very well yet, but that didn't stop him from prying. “I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for Banner right now. He hasn't gotten laid in years and especially not with a hot college girl like you. Don't be too upset if he didn't perform, sweetheart.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “It's none of your business, but Bruce was fucking awesome. And I'm sure a quick conversation with Cait would confirm that he's better than you. Now, I have class, so I'll see you later. Or not.”

Tony slow-clapped as she exited. “She's a keeper, Banner,” Felicity heard him saying.

 _Oh, fuck! Bruce is up!_ She dashed into the elevator before he had a chance to stop her. She was historically very bad with morning afters.

“Yeah,” Felicity thought she heard Bruce saying as the doors slid shut, “she is.”

 

 

“I think it’s best if you go to the lab without me today,” Felicity said, not wanting to face Bruce yet.

“Yeah, you can count me out. I'm too tired,” Cait said, wanting to stay in bed for as long as humanly possible.

“Alright, I need some time to actually get some work done. Having so many people in the lab can get distracting sometimes,” Alice said collecting her things. She walked out the door and hailed a taxi taking her to the lab.

“Morning Bruce!” she said, noting the dark circles under his eyes.

“Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night,” he laughed, knowing she had likely been debriefed by her roommate earlier.

“Right, right,” Alice said a little awkwardly, starting to lay her stuff down on the counter.

“I know I just got here and all, but I think I have the next steps to this under wraps,” Daria said pointing at there half finished replica. “If you want to take off and get some rest, that would fine,” Alice said, knowing he needed the sleep.

“Well, thank you for the offer. I trust you to get the work done and I do need some sleep…” He paused, considering it. “Yes, you know what, I will take you up on that offer.” He began to collect his things.

“Get some rest, Doctor,” Alice said smiling as she laid out her notes.

“I plan on it,” he said, while putting on his jacket and exiting the lab. “Thank you!”

Ready to work, Alice began running through her equations again to find the correct applications for the replica. Since no one really walked by or worked in the labs, Alice got to work in solitude for most of the day. At noon, an assistant whose name Alice had forgotten stopped in to give her a sandwich. A couple hours later, a tour group had walked by and she waved to a little kid before getting back to work. By nightfall, she had almost completely finished the model, just one piece left. She wanted to finish before tomorrow so that Bruce could see she was able to do this on her own. She continued to run through the equations but none of them were fitting the one section she needed. Over and over again she tried to no avail. Time flew by, but she was determined to get that one piece to fit and work. She would not give up. But as more time went by, her eyes began to droop and she slowly fell into a dazed sleep.

“Darling, you’re drooling on your work,” she heard a soft voice speak to her.

 _Was she dreaming? Who was in the lab this late? What time even was it?_ she thought, as her head shot up and she looked right at an inquisitive Loki.  

Suddenly, from her dream, the equations came to her. It must fit if she only added a second chamber she thought, writing it down in a daze. Scientists said dreams could help with equations, but she never thought that was real.

“You are aware it is nearly two in the morning? You might want to start--” Loki was cut off with a violent shush from Alice as she continued scribbling vigorously on her paper.

She then got up and started fiddling with the machine, finally getting a piece to fit in. The entire contraption began to emit a deep blue glow.

“Yes!” she shouted, as she fell backwards and leaned against the table out of exhaustion.

“Maybe it's would be best if you went home now,” Loki said, seeing her visible exhaustion.

“No, no” Alice said, letting out a huge yawn. “I can sleep right here.” She sank to the floor, starting to curl up as though she was going to bed.

“No, you cannot,” he said, lifting her up and sitting her in a chair.

Suddenly, Alice looked up at Loki and met his blues eyes. Fatigue was making every unfocused, as though she had no control over her action.

“Take me to your room,” she demanded, clearly in search of the closest appropriate place to sleep.

“Well, you see, I live quite some distance away and I fear the journey is much too far since you are already falling asleep,” he responded.

“Take me to your bed,” she said, confused and focused on sleep. “Where is the great prince's bed, where so many fair maiden have fallen victim to the silvertongue?” she said slowly, fighting to stay awake.

“You would be surprised the amount of women I reject,” he said laughing at her comment. “In fact, I haven't said yes in about two years.”

“Woe is me. Two years with no sex? You must really be desperate now. Desperate enough to hit on me,” she mumbled.

This made Loki genuinely laugh. Even in her sleep-deprived state, she felt pleased to have made him happy.

“I think any man that is even slightly alive would hit on you. But, you shut them out pretty easily” he said, smirking.

“I do because all men want is to get in my pants. I don’t want to marry that,” she said drifting off again.

“Not all men want just that ” Loki said so softly, she thought she had imagined it

“Take me to your bed” she repeated.

“So, you want to get in _my_ bed now?” Loki said smirking, hoping to get a rise out of the girl who was now in his arms.

She put her head up against his chest and murmured, “No, I want to sleep.”

And at that moment, he decided that she was going to _his_ bed. Not in New York, but in Asgard.

The portal was opened, he carried her through and up into the city he loved so dearly.

He carried her through the dark corridors and into his green and gold room.

He put her down lightly on his gold comforter and she moaned slightly, finally in the warm bed she had been searching for.

He then looked down at the beautiful, small, blonde girl on his bed, in his room in Asgard. In a moment of panic, he wondered what he was possibly thinking. Alice had people who cared for her on Earth, and there was no way they wouldn’t notice her missing.


	9. Chapter 9

 

When Cait and Felicity realized Alice was missing, there was mass panic.

“Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck? How do you do this? Do we file a missing person's report? Who do I call?”  Cait shouted, pacing around the room. Felicity had just gotten off the phone with Bruce, who had gone into work to find Alice’s entire bag still there, but not Alice herself. Knowing that Alice hadn’t come home the night before, they knew that something was wrong. When she didn’t answer her phone, they knew something was really, _really_ wrong.

“I bet you anything it was that motherfucking, Loki,” Felicity said, thinking of all their weird interactions.

“Do you think that Thor would help or know what to do? How do we even contact him?” Cait asked.

“Call his fucking hammer? Is there like a bat- signal for Thor?” Felicity said in a panic.

At that moment the phone rang and both girls grabbed it at the same time.

“Put it on speaker,” Cait whispered as Felicity picked it up. A voice boomed over the phone.

“Is this thing on? Can anyone hear me?” a confused Thor shouted into the phone. When Felicity hurriedly told him yes, and to stop talking so goddamn loud, he continued speaking. “I have tracked your beloved friend. Loki has made it clear that he has taken her to Asgard. I have no idea what his plans are for her but if you want her back we need to go retrieve her.” Thor, usually so stoic and calm, sounded panicked and slightly frantic, scaring Felicity and Cait even more.

“So, we’re going to Asgard?” Felicity asked.

“Well, we are most certainly going to Asgard. I do not think it would wise to bring two more Misguardians there,” Thor answered.

“Um, excuse me,” Cait grabbed the phone, “this is one of our best fucking friends on the

line here. If you don’t think that we’re coming, then you’re all idiots. We’ll be at Stark Tower in ten minutes.” Cait hung up, as Felicity stared at her in awe.

“Cait, that was so badass,” Felicity said. Cait shrugged.

“I might seem like an emotionless bitch, but I’ll literally do anything for a friend. Now, come on, let’s go!” They grabbed some stuff, threw it in a bag, and were in a taxi within a couple minutes.

When they arrived at Stark Tower, they found all the guys ready to go.

“They’re coming?” asked Bruce, slightly incredulous.

“Yes, it will help her to have friends there. I’m sure Loki has traumatized her enough,” Thor said.

“It might be best if you were to grab a hold of someone else,” Thor said. Cait and Felicity awkwardly looked between the guys. Cait pretty quickly gravitated towards Tony who wrapped an arm around her without hesitation. Felicity hesitated, looking between the Captain and Bruce, before slowly walking over to Bruce.

“Is everyone ready?” Thor asked, getting ready to take off. With everyone’s nod, he opened the portal and they started on their way to Asgard to rescue Alice.

 

*********

 

Felicity and Cait weren’t prepared for the sight of Asgard. As they began walking to the city, they were mesmerized by the colors of the city surrounding them.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to another planet,” Cait commented.

“No shit, Cait,” Bellucci retorted. “I don’t think you’ve been out of the US before. Can we just please hurry up? Who even knows what the hell Loki could be doing to her right now?” Everyone picked up the pace.

“Thor, do you have any idea where he would be keeping her?” Cait asked. He shook his head.

“Loki lives to trick people. He could have taken her anywhere on this whole planet and I don’t think we’ll know where until he wants us to,” Thor answered. Cait and Felicity shared a dark look, knowing they would do anything to get their friend back. Finally, after what seemed like a never-ending walk, they arrived at the castle-like building. They burst in through the entrance.

“Where are Loki’s rooms? They might tell us where he took her,” Felicity stated. Thor gestured a different way with a look that said how little he actually believed there was hope of finding her. As they started walking down the hallway, a strange noise echoed through: a giggle that sounded suspiciously like Alice.

“That kinda sounded like--” Cait started.

“You don’t think…” Felicity said at the same time. They looked each other and started running, ignoring the calls of the guys behind them.

Emerging from the hallway, they gasped as they saw Alice before them. Alice, who evidently was not being tortured by Loki at all, but rather lounging on what appeared to be the Asgardian form of a beach chair with a drink in her hand. Turning around, she smiled when she saw her two friends.

“Guys! I’m so glad you made it in time for the party tonight!” she called out to us. “Wait, please tell me the Captain is with you, Loki can’t mix drinks for shit.” Was that hurt that flashed across Loki’s face? It didn’t matter, Cait _was_ pissed.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Alice?” Cait angrily shouted. “We were freaking out! You were just gone and we thought that Loki was doing God knows what to you! We came to a planet across the freaking galaxy for you! And you’re just relaxing and you don’t even care at all?”

“Are you done?” Alice patiently asked. When Cait and Felicity didn’t say anything, she continued. “There’s supposed to be this huge party tonight and we needed to start getting ready like an hour ago. What took you guys so long anyways?” Cait huffed in frustration.

“So, where are we getting ready?” Felicity broke in, before Cait started ranting again.

“This way,” Alice said, getting up and walking across the room. Cait and Felicity followed, leaving the guys to deal with Loki. Alice led them into a large room that housed a large circular bed and not much else.

“So, is this Loki’s room?” Felicity asked, looking around the bare room.

“Yeah,” Alice replied. “I was really tired yesterday, almost delirious really, and I asked Loki to take me to his room and this is where he took me.”

“Did you sleep with him?” Cait bluntly asked.

“No! Nothing’s happened between us...But I think that I might want something to happen tonight.” She pulled out what she was planning to wear for the night.

“Well, shit. If Loki doesn’t want you when you’re wearing that, then he’s gay.”

“Trust me, he’s not gay,” Alice said with a wry grin. With a laugh, the three girls got to work, taking out makeup that had just appeared from nowhere. After a couple hours, they were totally ready to go. Standing next to each other, they appraised each other in lone mirror.

Cait was wearing a tight and short, black dress with a very low cowl neck and back that had more straps than fabric. Her blond hair was straightened and pulled back into a sleek ponytail and dark makeup was smudged around her brown eyes. Felicity was going bold in a bright red, tight dress that showed the perfect amount of boob, the ends of her brunette hair messily curled down. Daria was the boldest of the three. She chose a low-cut forest green corset edged with a gold ribbon tied in bows. Opting for no pants, she paired it with a darker green pair of slip shorts. To top it off, she put on thigh high lace-up metallic gold-heeled boots. With her hair crazily curled, she was aiming to drive Loki insane tonight. The three girls spent a while just appreciating themselves in the mirror.

“I’m so getting with a god tonight,” Cait threw out. Alice and Felicity started to laugh. “I’m not kidding…” Cait said, making them laugh even harder.

Realizing the time, they hurried out, meeting the guys in the same room they had left them. To say jaws dropped would be an understatement. Bruce’s eyes practically bugged out of his head when he saw Felicity and from the dumbfounded look on Steve’s face, he was having some sinful thoughts about Bellucci as well. Thor was looking Alice up and down with a suggestive smile. Even Cait and Tony were openly appreciating the other. The only person, Alice noticed, that didn’t have any reaction at all was Loki, who remained stoic faced as he looked at each other. She especially noted how his eyes didn’t seem to linger on her at all. Well, if that’s how he wanted to play, then she would too.

The group walked over to where they could hear the music already blasting. There was a giant open dance floor with lots of … beings already dancing with each other. A bar top spread across the entire other wall. It surprisingly looked a lot like an earthen club.

“I didn’t know Asgardians had this type of party,” Alice said to Thor, leaning over to whisper in his ear. She made sure to make eye contact with Loki as she rested her hand on Thor’s muscle. To her delight, Loki clenched his jaw and looked away.

“Who’s ready to partay?” Cait called out, immediately heading to the bar with Tony following. Everyone slowly walked over to where they had claimed a spot, hastily ordering some drinks and downing them.

“Felicity, come do shots with me!” Cait shouted across the room. Felicity headed over to where Cait was waiting with the drinks. Cait handed one of the shots to her, yelled a quick “Bottoms up!” and downed her shot. Felicity did the same.

“Fuck, that was strong,” Felicity shouted above the music. Cait nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, Asgardians have the really good shit.” Cait waved Thor over, pulling him away from a conversation with Alice. “Alright, Thor, you gotta help me out here. Which ones are gods and which ones are the people I should avoid?” Thor began pointing out people and naming them while Tony looked on with interest. Felicity grabbed another drink and downed it while Thor was explaining who everyone was to Cait. She really wanted to go talk to Bruce, but it looked like Alice had gotten into a conversation with him, probably about something related to their work.

That left her with two options: Loki, no, and Steve. Ordering another drink quickly, she moved away from the bar to where the Captain was awkwardly standing.

“You don’t look too comfortable being here, Captain,” she started.

“This isn’t really my scene, you know. I don’t really get this kind of dancing,” he replied, looking at the people grinding on the dance floor.

“Yeah,” Felicity nodded in agreement. “It’s practically public sex with some clothes on.”

Looking back at their friends, Felicity saw that Cait had released Thor, who was back to talking very closely to Alice and was gesturing for her to come closer.

“Well, this has been fun, but Cait’s calling me back. I’ll see you later?” Bellucci called back, already walking towards Cait.

“Come on, let’s go grab one of those tables over there while I pick my target,” Cait said, pulling her towards an empty table. Sitting her down, Cait put another drink in her hand. “Drink up.” Felicity was starting to lose count of how many drinks she had. She’d definitely already had two shots, but what happened to the drink she got before talking to Steve? Had she already finished that? She shrugged, deciding it really didn’t matter.

“So, you’re planning on sleeping with a god tonight?” Tony questioned Cait.

“I mean, when in Asgard, am I right?”

“You know, we could always make things a little more interesting with a bet.”

“Oh?”

“Clearly, you and I are on the same page here. How about whichever one of us sleeps with the more powerful god or goddess wins the bet?”

“If I win, I want one of your cars--my choice,” Cait countered. Tony looked pained to do so, but he nodded. “What do you want if you win?”

“Undecided. We can figure that out if I win.”

“You’re so on,” Cait grinned. Tony got up from the table and went out onto the dance floor.

Meanwhile, Bellucci had finished her drink, stolen all of Cait’s, and was halfway through Tony’s.

“Fuck, Felicity! This stuff will knock you on your ass! How much did you drink?” Cait asked, alarmed.

“Whaaa?” Felicity responded.

“Really, Bellucci, I’ve kind of got shit going on right now, I can’t take care of you.”

“Hey, Cait. Hey! You’re _so_ pretty.” Felicity reached a hand, touching a loose strand of hair. “I wish I was blonde like you and Daria.”

“Well, we do have more fun,” Cait joked. “Come on, stand up, you drunkie.” She grabbed Felicity by the waist, lifting her out of chair and stopping her from grabbing the drink on the table.

“But Cait,” Felicity whined. “All I wanna do is dance!” She decided that right then and there was the best time to start dancing, moving her hips in a way that knocked both of them, already precariously balanced on stilettos, to the floor. Cait was the first one able to stand up.

“Captain, a little help over here!” she called out to the Captain. Together, Steve and Cait pulled a very drunk and stumbling Felicity up off the floor and over to the bar. “This is what you get when overprotective parents don’t let you do anything in high school. Me? I got all my embarrassing drinking out of the way. She’s just starting.” They continued guiding her. “Well, I think you can manage her, right, Captain? I’ve got someone--something to do,” Cait said, making eye contact with gorgeous blonde man across the room. She walked away, leaving Felicity in the care of the Captain.

“You’re eyes are so blue,” Petruzzi said to the Captain, leaning very close to his face to get a better look.

“I think you should be looking into Bruce’s eyes, not mine,” Steve said, leaning away.

“Bruce,” Felicity said dreamily. “He really knows what he’s doing in bed, you know. Pretty surprising if you think about the whole heart rate thing.” Felicity giggled in a very un-Felicity way. She knew that she should stop talking before she embarrassed herself anymore, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “He’s very good with his han--”

Steve broke in, “Maybe you should stop talking right no--Hey Bruce!”

Felicity did a one eighty. “Bruce! You’re here!” She threw her arms his neck and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

“Felicity?” he inquired in disbelief. Steve mouthed _too much to drink_ , over Felicity’s shoulder. Bruce nodded in understanding.

“Bruce, why don’t you take me to bed?” Felicity asked suggestively, with a failed attempt to wink.

“You know, maybe it’s a good idea if I did take you back to your room,” he replied.

“No, Bruce, I want to go to _your_ room,” she immediately replied. He merely nodded, acquiescing to keep her happy. He wrapped an arm around her waist before heading in the direction they had come from.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on her, Captain,” Bruce called out over his retreating shoulder. Steve waved them away, trying to stop his desire to be taking Felicity back to her room.

Because suddenly, the Captain was alone, yet again.

 

 

******

Off to the other side of the dance floor, Alice had just begun dancing with Thor. As the next song started playing, he pulled her tight to his body, much to Alice’s surprise. They began grinding to the beat of the music. Within seconds, Alice found Loki in the crowd, staring daggers at both of them. Thor took no notice, but Alice was watching his face intently, happy to finally get a rise out of him.

She realized that one too many shots was probably impairing her judgment and making her push it too far. She also realized she really didn’t care.

She took one of Thor's hands, guiding it over her corset and down her body. She looked over to see Loki's reaction, but he was gone. _Damn it!_ she thought to herself. Right in that moment, she felt someone grab her roughly and pull her away. She was dragged through the crowd and into the hallways outside. She regained her balance and looked around for the person responsible. Before her was a seething Loki. He grabbed her wrist and started to roughly pull her down the hallway, eventually into his room. He slammed the door behind her.

“How DARE you let my brother touch you like that in front of me!” he shouted, looking at her, more furious than he could ever remember being.

“What, do you own me now?” Alice angrily replied to the god.

“You come into Asgard with _me_ and think you can dance like _that_ with my brother? And don't think I didn't see you watching me, trying to tease me, trying to outplay me. Do you forget who you are dealing with?” he yelled, his voice booming throughout the room.

“I have never once forgotten,” Alice said, now a lot quieter.

“First, you come in wearing _that_ …” He said slowly circling her, studying her skimpy outfit.

“Like you even noticed,” Alice scoffed. “I saw your face when I first walked in. Thor's lit up, but you acted like you barely cared,” Alice said, remembering the all too recent pain.

“That, my dear, is called self control and I pride myself on it. It took all I had to contain myself wearing _that_ tonight,” he said, gesturing to her corset. With that admission, Alice decided to use a new tactic.

“How do you even know I didn't dress up for Thor?” Alice asked, hoping to get more out of him.

Loki shook with a deep angry laugh. “If you had dressed up for Thor,” he said slowly walking up to her, “then you would not have worn _my_ colors.” He reached his hands around her waist, so close they were completely pressed up against each other. He grabbed the tightly wound laces in the back of the corset. “You most certainly would not have been watching _me_ all night.” He tore the corset off her, leaving her in just her thin green and gold bra. “And you would not have worn that,” he said, smirking at her while gesturing to her bra.He suddenly pushed her up against the door he had slammed shut earlier.

“You have been such a tease, love,” he said, an inch from her face. “Such a wicked,” he planted a kiss on her neck, “wicked,” another kiss on her shoulder, “tease,” another kiss on her collar bone.  

“Loki,” she said, almost moaning his name.

“Say my name. Who do you belong to?!” he said, looking into eyes clouded over with alcohol and lust.

“Loki!” She moaned, looking up at him and losing her balance while trying to stand up a little more. Suddenly, an emotion close to fear crossed over Loki’s face.

“Maybe it would be best if you go to bed now,” he said coldly, pulling away from her.

“Wha...what….why? Alice stuttered, confused and still drunk.

“You are drunk and tired, and as tempting as you are, I do want you sober when I have you,” he said, smirking at her.

“If… you have me,” Alice said, stumbling over to his bed again, completely forgetting that she did not have much of a top on.

“Sleep here tonight,” she said, remembering how he left her last night.

“No, I really shou--”

“Loki, please!” Alice said in a hushed voice that silenced him.

With no words said, he undressed, before climbing to lie next to her on the bed. He turned the light off, plunging them into darkness.

“Goodnight, Loki,” she said, already in a dream-like state.

“Goodnight, my love,” Loki said, knowing she would not remember it.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Cait woke up in a bed that was not her own. She looked at the attractive man that lay in the bed next to her, remembering some details of the night before. The looks across the room, the dancing, eventually going back to his room… This was the perfect time to leave. Grabbing her dress off the floor, she threw it on, opting to leave her underwear behind. Way too much effort to find it. Taking one last look at the bronzed man with the long blonde hair, she stumbled out of her room.

Coincidentally, Tony was exiting a room just across the hallway at the same time.

“Please tell me you didn’t sleep with Freya,” Cait called out across the hallway. That would just be too weird considering whose room she had just come out of.

“No, not Freya. I think her name was … Fulla?” Tony replied.

“Oh, she’s just the servant of Frigg. Hardly impressive,” Cait retorted.

“Like you did any better?”

“Actually… I did.”

“How much better?”

“I think it’s safe to say I won the bet. Which car is your favorite again?”

“Come on, Cait, who was it?”

“Frey. God of Prosperity. I think you know of him,” Cait replied, clearly happy to have outdone Stark.

“No shit. Was it any good?”

“A girl doesn’t kiss and tell, Mr. Stark,” Cait said with a secret smile. “But surprisingly underwhelming.”

“I guess it’s hard to live up to the standards I set, right?” Tony said arrogantly. Cait just rolled her eyes at him. His smile got wider when she didn’t actually disagree with him. They both realized suddenly that they were at Cait’s room.

“Well, I’m gonna go see how Alice and Belucci fared. I’ll probably see you later?” Cait said, walking into Alice’s room. Tony nodded, looking like he wanted to say something before shaking his head and walking away. “Oh, and don’t forget, when we get back, you and me are having a date!” Cait called out.

“What?” Tony replied, confused.

“You know, to pick out my car?” Cait laughed and walked inside.

 

* * * * *

 

For the second night in a row, Felicity woke up next to Bruce.  This time, however, she had a pounding headache, and Bruce was already awake and looking concernedly at her.

“I promise I wasn’t watching you sleep!” he said immediately, “I just woke up a second ago.”

Felicity let out a small laugh, which made her head hurt even more, and kissed his cheek.  “I’m sorry for any and everything I said last night.  Usually it’s Cait or Alice getting drunk and I have to take care of them but last night I went a little too hard.  How bad was I?”

“Well, um, you kept telling people how good I am in bed,” he answered, a smug smile on his lips.

“Well that _is_ true,” she said, “and you know I strive for honesty in everything I say and do.”

He rolled on top of her and kissed her smiling lips.  “So, what was it you were saying about me last night?”

“That you’re amazing,” she moaned as he kissed her neck, “in bed.”

“Well I wouldn’t want to make you a liar now would I?”

 

* * * * *

 

“So, what do we do now?” Cait said, finally analyzing the beautiful Asgardian architecture in the room, and realizing how far away from home they really were.  

“I think Thor said something about a pool?” Felicity mentioned, “Maybe I was just super drunk and heard him wrong.”

“No, no, actually I do think Thor mentioned something about a pool,” Alice said, thinking back to what he said.

“Do you know if Asgardians have any swimwear?” Cait asked, walking over to the large closet in the guest room that they were sharing.

“I assume there must be something in there if they really do have a pool,” Alice said, starting to dig through the closet.   

“I found one” Felicity said, extremely excited! “I love it!” she yelped, holding it up.

“Damn it, Felicity got the good one!” Alice said now frantically digging through. “Yes! Here's one!” Alice held up a very small frilly bikini.

“You think that’s gonna fit?” Cait eyed the bikini that looked a little too small for comfort.

“Whatever, as long as we don't see the guys,” Alice said, hoping they were off doing something other than wandering the palace and running into them.

“Hell yes!” Cait said, grabbing a one piece out of the drawer.

“A one piece? Really Cait?” Alice snorted.

Cait held it up and both girls smirked, “One piece, cut out,” Felicity raised her eyebrows in amusement.

The girls then went to different corners of the room to try on their new bathing suits.

“Asgardians really must like black” Alice said, turning around and noticing that all three of their bathing suits were the same color.

“Oh my god, Felicity!” Cait eyed her friend’s suit, a black floral high-waisted halter top style, clearly the most elegant of the three girls bathing suits.

“You like it?” she said, doing a quick twirl.

“I love it!” Cait said, now looking in the mirror at her own. “And I love this one, too.”

Cait’s was a black one piece with a deep narrow cut out to her belly button and two thin straps going across her chest. There were thin straps running across the cut out along her sides also.

“Um guys…” Alice said, looking in the mirror.

“Just wear a towel until we’re at the pool” Felicity said, knowing she felt uncomfortable in by far the skimpiest bikini, although Alice wasn’t as well-endowed as Cait or Felicity which made it easier for her to pull off the frilly black string bikini with light pink ribbon as the ties.

“Make sure Thor doesn't see you in that,” Cait smirked.

Alice laughed and picked up her towel, wrapping it around herself.

The girls walked out of the room down the hall to ask the guard where the pool was.

“Ah, yes, the pool, Thor’s pool. Right down the hall, up a flight of stairs and to the left.”

The girls followed the directions and came upon an incredible pool in a courtyard area. It had glass mirror walls on all four sides and a beautiful gold bottom.  

“Oh fuck yes!” Cait said, running over to the diving board.

“It is so hot here. I can't wait to go swimming!” Felicity said, looking at the crystal clear blue water.

“I'll just sit here and watch you guys for a bit,” Alice said, still holding her towel lightly around her, unsure whether anyone could see her.

What the girls didn’t realize was that the mirrored walls around the pool were only mirrors one way. One of them was to Thor's room and the others were too his lounge. Loki had been arguing with Thor when Tony and Steve have barged into the room to ask where the drinks were.

“There is a bar downstairs,” Thor said, looking agitated by the argument they had been having.

“It's ten in the morning, for Odin’s sake, give it a rest!” Loki said venomously, looking to continue his quarrel with Thor.

Then, Steven looked over at the wall and saw the court yard with the pool. “Oh that is so sweet. How long have you had this pool and why does nobody know about it?” Steve inquired, wanting to run and jump in.

“Not too many people know about it. It is one of the hidden gems of--” Right as Thor was about to finish there was a loud sound as the doors to the courtyard opened from the other side.

“But apparently hidden no longer to our new friends,” Loki said, watching as Cait ran over to the diving board, Felicity dipped her toe in and Alice took a seat on the side.

Tony sat down and put his feet up, “Forget about the bar, I'm staying to watch the show,” he said snidely.

“What do you mean. Can't they see us?” Steve was confused.

“No it was built as a one-way mirror on the other side. We can see out but they can not see in,” Thor added.

“Isn’t that a little...rapey?” Steve was visibly uncomfortable.

“Until today, I was one of the few who knew of this pool,” Thor replied.

“Quit being the good guy for one second and appreciate Cait in that bathing suit, Rogers!” Tony was gazing admiringly out the window.  “Lose the towel, Alice!  Let’s see what you’ve got hiding under there!”

“You’re a pig, Stark” Loki said softly.

“Damn, Belucci’s pretty hot for a brunette,” Tony made no effort to stop his objectifications.

“Don’t talk about her like that!” Steve slammed his fist on the table.

“Easy there, soldier!  Good thing Banner isn’t here to hear you talk about his girl like that!”

“Good thing Banner’s not here to hear what?” Bruce asked, entering the room.

“Stark objectifying the girls, what else is new?” Loki muttered.

“What do you mean obj--oh,” Thor pointed out the window and Bruce was met with the sight of them: scantily clad and playing in the pool.

“Ayyyy Alice take off the towel!  Damn,” Tony insisted.

Loki worked hard to control his rage, to not lash out and snap Tony’s neck.

Bruce was so entranced by the sight of Felicity that he didn’t notice that Steve seemed to be having the same reaction.

“Alright, you knew this was coming: who’s the hottest?  We could do scores out of ten or we could just rank them.”

“Felicity,” Bruce and Steve said at the same time, as Loki and Thor answered, “Alice.”

“Wrong.  Cait’s clearly the hottest,” Tony said decisively.

“Well, it depends does it not?  Are we speaking of the body, or the brain?” Thor said.

“Body, obviously,” Tony said quickly, smirking.

“Well then obviously Felicity,” Steve said quickly, and all the men stopped to look at him.

“I mean…well…she is rather…well-endowed in the-the chest area,” he stuttered, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Tony then burst out laughing at Steve's awkwardness and Bruce looked rather angry.

“Yes but look at those long long legs,” Tony said, eyes following Cait as she ran around the pool and then finally jumped in. Thor and Loki both had their eyes on Alice who turned around to toss off the towel she had been holding in her hands.

“But that behind,” Thor said, looking at her very small bikini bottoms.

“Oh, we have a phrase for that back in Midgard.” Tony said, “Dat ass”

“Enough!” Loki said, clearly furious.

“Oooooh reindeer games is getting upset” Tony teased, watching Loki get angrier. “Do you not like having four other men looking at your little crush’s ass? How about having your brother grind on her all last night?” Tony continued to tease him.

Suddenly, all the fury and frustration was wiped off of Loki's face and a big wicked smile filled its place as Loki lifted his hand at Tony and suddenly he was glowing blue. He started levitating off the ground and floating towards the door to the pool.

“Reindeer games. This isn't funny. Put me down!” Tony said, now getting furious.

Loki just laughed and threw open the door with his other hand from across the room. He tossed Tony out the door, which slammed shut behind him as he splashed into the pool.The girls all looked terrified, unsure of what was going on. Suddenly a deep laugh ran throughout the courtyard that sounded exactly like Loki’s.  Realization ran across Alice's face. She ran up to one of the mirror walls and put her finger up to it, noticing that the finger didn't touch the mirror image of it meaning that someone could see from the other side.

“Well girls, say hello to most likely all the guys,” Alice said to Felicity and Cait who had been distracted by a flailing Tony.

“What do you mean?” Cait asked.

“Two way mirror,” Alice said, pointing at the walls. “Come out, come out wherever you are boys” Alice said.

Slowly, all of the guys came out from behind the mirror with Thor leading the way.

“So,” Cait called out. “How long have you been behind the mirror?”

Tony pulled himself out of the pool, muttering, “Not that long.” He cast a dark glare at Loki who looked away with a smirk.

“See anything you like?” Belucci said, looking pretty directly at Bruce, who, of course, immediately nodded.

Alice who was frustrated with Loki yelled Tony's name, “How's the water Stark?”

“Would be better with you in it!” he smirked.

Seeing no one else in the water she ran and jumped in feeling a horrible shock as she hit the ice cold water and everything went black.

They all watched as Alice hit the water and watched what looked like electricity run through her small body.

“What the fuck!?” Felicity yelled, looking at Alice floating on the top of the pool.

“Quick, get her out!” Steve commanded, shifting into action mode.

“No one else touch the water. _Stark_ has a reactor in his chest that reacted with my magic and created an electrical field in the water,” Loki said with a hint a worry in his voice .

“She dead. She's fucking dead!” Cait said looking at her friend laying on her back, completely pale.

“She is not _dead_ ” Loki rolled his eyes, “just in serious shock.”

“So what the hell do we do?” Felicity said, still frantic.

“ _I_ will take her to the healers,” he said.

“You two should give her some time to get her consciousness back”

“Uhh, right, right…” Cait said, still traumatized by the sight of the lifeless Alice.

“No, Loki, do not touch her,” Thor commanded, as Tony pushed Alice’s body out of the water. “This is the fault of your magic. I warned you to stay away from her and now you have proved my belief true. If you value your life, you will heed my warning.” Grabbing Alice, he cradled her in her arms as a seething Loki backed out of the room. “Come, we must take her to the healers immediately.” Thor led the way out of the room as everyone quickly followed.

Before everyone could process what was happening, people were carrying Alice’s body away.

“Where are they taking her?” Belucci asked, still panicked.

“She’s going to be fine,” Thor soothed. “Trust me, these people will do all they can to ensure her safety.”

“The second Alice is okay, we’re getting the fuck off this planet. And Loki is not coming with us. I’m sorry, Thor, he might be your brother, but he did this to her and he needs to keep his distance from now on,” Cait warned. Tony came up from behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Belucci noticed how quickly she melted into his embrace, reminding herself to bring it up later, when she knew Alice was okay.

“Why don’t we just take a seat and wait to see what the healers have to say?” Tony murmured to her. She nodded and he guided her to a seat near them. Everyone quickly followed. After the exhausting night they had had and the stress of not knowing how Alice was, Felicity and Cait quickly fell asleep.

 

* * * * *

 

Cait opened her eyes to see Tony gently jostling her. She realized, slightly embarrassed, that she had fallen asleep practically on top of Tony. Her legs were curled up on top of his and her head was resting in the crook of his neck. Strangely, he didn’t seem to mind.

“Hey,” he said, in the softest voice she had ever heard him use. “I think Thor got an update from the healers.” Cait was instantly awake. She saw Felicity was still next to Bruce, her head leaning against his shoulder. He woke her up, and they went over to where Thor was pacing.

“Alright, what’s the deal?” Belucci asked in her no-bullshit voice.

“Alice is stable right now…” Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. “But she’s in a coma and they can’t figure out why.”

“A coma?”

“Do they know when she’s going to come out it?”

“Yes, a coma, no, they have no idea what’s causing it or when it will end. It is really just a matter of waiting at this point. I think it’s best if she stays here to be monitored by Asgardians and you two return home,” Thor replied to their questions.

“There’s no way in hell we’re leaving here without Alice,” Cait angrily said as Felicity nodded in agreement. “New plan.”

“I’m afraid there can be no other plan. You will leave, and you will leave today. I have no idea where Loki is and I do not want him hurting any more of you. I will watch over Alice personally, you can trust that,” Thor’s eyes softened.

“Fine,” Felicity snapped. “But the second she’s awake, or if she…” Felicity shook her head, banishing the dark thought, “you better find us and tell us.” Thor nodded his agreement and they were led away from Alice.  Too soon, Felicity and Cait found themselves back in New York, a third of themselves left behind.


End file.
